Written answers
Tuesday, 14 May 2013
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Ministerial Travel
Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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161. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will outline the travel that the Minister of State for Trade and Development has undertaken in the past six months in his role as a Minister of State in his Department, most notably, the first ever Irish Ministerial visit to Mongolia; if he will outline the engagements he has had on each trip; the visits that he is intending to take during the coming six months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22521/13]
Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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As the Deputy has pointed out, I recently undertook the first Irish Ministerial visit to Mongolia to attend the Community of Democracies Ministerial meeting which took place in Ulaanbaatar on 29 April. While in Mongolia, I also met with Irish business people active in the Mongolian market and met with representatives of the largest telecoms operator in Mongolia which is purchasing technical equipment and services from an Enterprise Ireland client company.
My visit to Mongolia was part of a wider visit that also encompassed China and Abu Dhabi. In China, I attended the sod-turning ceremony for Cork-based Wilson Architecture's project in Dalian, and also held discussions with the Ministry of Commerce about forming an Irish Chamber of Commerce in China. On route to China, I also visited Abu Dhabi to attend the Global Vaccine Summit organised by the Gates Foundation.
In terms of travel over the next six months, I will visit Brussels a number of times before the end of our Presidency of the EU for Presidency related meetings or to chair political dialogues on behalf of the EU. In particular, I will be visiting Brussels for the development segment of the Foreign Affairs Council on 28 May. I will also visit Gabon at the end of June to chair the EU-EECAS Political Dialogue on behalf of the EU.
I will be in New York at the beginning of next month to sign the Arms Trade Treaty on behalf of Ireland, and again in September to attend the UN General Assembly. I will also lead an Enterprise Ireland Trade Mission to Canada in June, and a further Trade Mission to South Africa and Nigeria in November. Additional travel requirements may arise in the coming months.
| Date | Location | Details |
|---|---|---|
| November 2012 | South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria and Cyprus | Headed an Enterprise Ireland Trade Mission to Africa and attended a conference on the post-2015 development framework in Cyprus. The visit to Cyprus also offered an opportunity to meet with the outgoing EU Presidency. |
| December 2012 | London | Attended and addressed an OECD Ministerial meeting. |
| December 2012 | London and Marrakesh | Keynote speaker at the SUN Business Network in London and represented Ireland at the Friends of Syria meeting in Marrakesh. |
| January 2013 | Paris | Keynote speaker at the OECD Policy Dialogue on Aid for Trade |
| January 2013 | Brussels | Addressed the European Parliament's Development Committee on humanitarian issues as EU Presidency. |
| January 2013 | Dubai and Kuwait | Trade visit to Dubai to attend the trade fair Arab Health with 15 Irish companies, and represent Ireland at the International Humanitarian Pledging Conference for Syria. |
| February 2013 | Brussels | Attended and addressed a Ministerial meeting on the situation in Mali. |
| February 2013 | Copenhagen | Attended and addressed the UN conference on addressing inequalities in the post 2015 development framework. |
| February 2013 | Brussels | Attended and addressed a Ministerial meeting on the situation in Mali. |
| March 2013 | Tanzanian, Mozambique and South Africa | Chaired the EU-SADC Political Dialogue in Maputo on behalf of the EU, and undertook a wider visit to the aid programme in Tanzania and Mozambique. The visit coincided with the St Patrick's Day period, and also involved a short visit to South Africa for St Patrick's Day events including the greening of Table Mountain. |
| April 2013 | Brussels | Attended and addressed the Third Assises of Decentralised Cooperation for Development. |
| April 2013 | Washington DC | Attended and addressed the World Bank Spring meetings. |
| April 2013 | Abu Dhabi, China and Mongolia | Attended and addressed the Global Vaccine Summit in Abu Dhabi and the Community of Democracies Ministerial in Mongolia. |
| May 2013 | London | Represented Ireland at the International Conference on Somalia. |
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